Given that: (1) Pulmonary disease (PD) is a progressive degenerative disease of the lung, with debilitating consequences; (2) drugs that are currently used to treat inflammatory disease of the upper respiratory tract (URI) are ineffective, especially in aged patients; (3) molecular mechanisms involved in the development of URI inflammatory diseases is poorly understood; (4) Chronic obstructive inflammatory disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide; (5) one-half billion people worldwide are affected by Asthma and COPD; (6) approx. 2, 50000 lakhs of patients worldwide die of asthma every year; (7) microbes that cause these inflammatory diseases very often become resistant to conventional antibiotic therapy and (8) billions of dollars are being spent every year worldwide to treat these diseases, there is an urgent need to find: (i) a way to control abnormal levels of inflammatory mediators found in URI inflammatory disease patients; (ii) non-antibiotic therapeutics; (iii) a side-effect-free natural product-based drug; and (iv) a way to effectively treat and cure URI inflammatory disease.

Prof. Li’s research team has recently shown that Resveratrol, by increasing the negative regulator of inflammation MyD88(s), it suppresses NTH-1-exacerbated inflammation.

This study suggests, for the first time, that Oleanolic acid, by increasing the expression of its target gene, it may: (1) increase the expression of MKP/DUSP1; (2) decrease the phosphorylation and the activity of ERK1/2; (3) increase the expression of the negative regulator of inflammation MyD88-short. Thereby, it may inhibit: (1) respiratory pathogen NTHi-aggravated inflammation and its mediators such as IL-1β, IL-6, CCL-2 and GM-CSF; (2) lung inflammation; and (3) the progression of upper respiratory tract inflammatory diseases such as Asthma and Chronic obstructive inflammatory disease. Thus, pharmacological formulations encompassing “Oleanolic acid or its analogues”may be used to control inflammatory mediators in upper respiratory tract inflammatory diseases.